Maybe you have a primary document you want to find the
story for? or You have a hunch or a question? Perhaps you want to
verify information? Maybe you would like to know more about a particular
person, or situate a person within a historical debate or controversy?
Maybe you're wondering if you know enough to develop a research question?
Perhaps you have a theory but are unsure how to get enough background
information to substantiate or test the theory?

How can you find out if your question has already been
researched? How might your interpretation of the same sources differ
from those that have already been discussed? What if you found a document
or source that could influence previous understanding of a subject
and its meaning to a particular community?

There is no one best place to
start!

It depends upon the approach. Techniques will vary when
working with oral histories, genealogy, archaeology, anthropology,
cultural, social, political or legal history perspectives.

However, it is useful to work with "informed conjecture"
until one can make a historically significant argument. The goal of
making “historically significant” arguments should not prevent
us from imagining possible scenarios and following those leads. This
page will focus on a few examples of scholars who have pieced together
and interpreted the past through their research on the lives and resistance
of enslaved Africans. We invite you to explore!

Get ready to enjoy the discovery process and the practice
of sharing your steps! Keep your own process diary,
note search terms you come across, find your own method to value and
note your ideas, questions that emerge, and sources you have used
to lead you to other sources. Try using the quilt metaphor to piece
together and document your process.

Respect all the threads! Remember,
history is a conversation! If your reader cannot follow the steps
you made through your sources, the conversation could end!

Cite sources you have used whether
they be from direct oral statements, published documents or unpublished
sources.

Formulating a question, finding search terms, developing
a search strategy, or advancing a theory requires some background
history on a topic. Those who create indexes and bibliographies of
resources on a topic can provide you with a backdrop or sketch of
what is out there so that you get enough of a sense to start working.
Sources that address methodology or historiography indicate perspectives
on a topic.

Sometimes research guides are available on the Web such
as the Underground
Railroad site done at Colgate University Library. However, these
guides often refer you to both print and Internet sources, often they
are more promotional than in-depth. Not all refererence tools
are available on the Web. Some of the best ones for this
field are not available electronically. Here is a more comprehensive
example of a reference source not available on the Web.

This exceptional guide includes state and local studies
under the topics slavery and race relations. It highlights repositories,
historiography, bibliographies, key primary and secondary sources
and collections. Most importantly it is indexed chronologically from
1492 to present by topic. Starting here can lead you directly to key
sources related to a particular period.

Timelines are
useful for providing historical context and gathering search terms.
Tools which link these historical threads will become very useful
when piecing together and interpreting your sources. Sometimes timelines
are found in published and non-published books, in articles, reference
sources and also now on the Internet. (Please remember, timelines
are also interpreted through the selection of events noted. Perhaps
you will notice or uncover something key that was not included and
therefore create a need for another timeline which may include what
you noted as significant by its absence.)

Primary sources provide first hand information
for historical inquiry or interpretation. Researchers sometimes feel
transported to a previous time through their use and interaction with
primary source materials, helping to build a relationship with the past
and to people not known to them.

Primary sources vary a great deal which is why
there is so often confusion about what is and isn't a primary document.
Strictly speaking, primary sources are those written by someone who
participated in or observed an event or time period. Such sources
reflect the perspective of the individual and are valuable in trying
to understand a personality, period, event, or a social movement such
as the Underground Railroad. Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews,
and letters are examples of documents that are clearly recognized
as primary. Memoirs and autobiographies, government records and legislation,
photographs, and organizational records all qualify as well.

Sometimes primary sources are used to establish
facts of a particular period. However, not all primary sources can be
considered to be evidence. For example, a diary may provide a perspective
and an interpretation of the events of a particular period but may not
be considered factual evidence. Where a government document such as
a birth certificate could be considered to be historical evidence of
that birth. Accounts or records of experience, events from a particular
period enable the researcher to re-construct and interpret the meaning
of events.

Other sources which may sometimes be used as
primary resources include: newspaper articles, period journals, advertisments,
opinon polls, letters to the editor, and artifacts such as badges
worn by slaves who were permitted to "hire" out.

Historian, William Kelleher Storey
reminds us, "You may have a hunch that space aliens helped
the Egyptians to build the pyramids, but after careful review of primary
sources and secondary works, you will find no evidence to support
your hypothesis. Don't expect too much from your sources and try not
to read into them what you hope to find." Writing History:
A Guide for Students, p.53

You may have to recognize the limits of your
sources and possibly move on to others or re-define your questions.
or You may find something so compelling that you will want to change
your topic.

Method 1: Once you find an appropriate
collection,go directly to primary source materials, allow
themes to emerge from your study and interaction with them. Utilize
people with knowledge. Ask reference librarians to identify sources
and/or refer you to people who may have the subject expertise you
are looking for. Archivists and librarians often enjoy the chance
to guide you when doing in-depth research but they need to schedule
the time. You will need to feel that your inquiry is heard and respected.
To benefit both parties, it is best to acknowledge the time, patience
and determination this work requires by asking to make an appointment.
Ask for any "finding aides" that will help you locate materials
within collections.

Method 2: Go to secondary sources first, works that interpret
or reflect on earlier times. One good method
of finding primary sources on a topic is to find those who are also
interested in your initial topic or research question! Check their
bibliographies and notes! While this approach begins with secondary
sources, it may lead you to primary sources that have not been mined!
Respect all the threads, cite all your sources! Remember that there
are many published sources that have yet to be used and interpreted.

Examples: Tracing Steps of Scholars Who Have Used and Interpreted
Primary Sources

Starting from oral histories...
Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard. (1999). Hidden
In Plain View: The Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad."We memorized Ozella's story and looked to related
sources for evidence connecting quilts to the Underground Railroad."
Authors state, "That since the field of African American quilt history
is relatively new, Jacki and I acknowledge that ideas and theories
might not always be conclusively proven as much presented for serious
consideration. Our methodology will open the field to further exploration
and to the piecing together of ideas and the making of connections.
Because the Quilt Code was recited in story form, we began our research
by considering the relevance of storytelling in the African American
community, and by examining well-known stories about quilts and the
Underground Railroad to determine what clues they might contain."
p. 26

How did their questions develop? What is the author's thesis?
How do they support their thesis statements through the use of primary
and secondary sources? What collections did they use to find materials?

Using historical documents...
Leslie M. Harris. (2003). In the Shadow of Slavery: African
Americans in New York City, 1626-1863."The
construction, destruction and recovery of the Negroes Burial Ground,
renamed the African Burial Ground in 1993, encapsulates the ways New
York City's early black history has been forgotten, but also how this
history may be recovered in unusual places. In this book, I uncover
the early history of enslaved and free Africans and African Americans
in New York City between 1626 and 1863. To do so, I have relied not
only on documents produced by black men and women, such as newspapers,
literature and organizational records but also documents produced
by whites that reveal, perhaps unintentionally, the contours of life
for New York City's blacks from seventeenth through nineteenth centuries.
As we know, black men and women left few of their own sources. But
the descriptions left by non-blacks, read and interpreted carefully,
can provide a wealth of information. "p. 2

Investigating social movements...
Milton C. Sernett. (2002). North Star Country: Upstate
New York and the Crusade for African American Freedom.
Sernett discusses the origins and varieties of abolitionism
in upstate New York(the "burned over district"), the impact of religious
revivals of the 1820's such as the Great Awakening which the author
claims, motivated abolitionist activity.

Using historical newspapers to construct history of
societies, organizations...
Elizabeth McHenry. (2002). Forgotten Readers: Recovering
the Lost History of African American Literary Societies."In providing this 'public channel'
through which to communicate, they created for the black community
a social and cultural space in which to articulate their opposition
to white oppression while also providing an invaluable lesson in literary
interaction and the power of print. In the pages of Freedom's Journal
reading was not portrayed as passive or solitary activity; rather,
it was an invitation to participate, a means of orienting the individual
towards social and communal models of exchange, be they written or
oral, that would enhance civic life and facilitate involvement in
the public sphere." p.
102

Discussion of the role of newspapers...
Gilbert Anthony Williams. (1989). The Role of the Christian
Recorder in the African Emigration Movement, 1854-1902.

"Albany's University Libraries are among the
top 100 research libraries in the country. The University Library and
the newly opened Science Library on the uptown campus, and the Thomas
E. Dewey Graduate Library for Public Affairs and Policy on the Rockefeller
College campus contain more than two million volumes, subscribe to 5,410
periodicals, and provide access to over 2.8 million microform items."
Several resources pertaining to Abolitionism and the Underground Railroad
can be found in printed reference sources, reprinted primary sources
in the stacks or as microform in the general collection in the main
library.

On-site community access to
books or the
Minerva Catalog (where journal and book titles can be searched).
Access to reference
sources, historical Black
newspapers and relevant databases
which index secondary sources (and some primary sources). Examples include America
History and Life, African American Newspapers, the 19th Century, African
American Studies, Black Studies on Disc, International Index to Black
Periodicals, Harper's Weekly, JSTOR(full-text journal articles),
and Lexis-Nexis Primary Sources in History(also includes microform
collection finding aids).

Records
Relating to African Americans in the New York State Archives"From the first Dutch settlement of
New Netherland to the most recent session of the State Legislature,
the history of New York State is documented in the records preserved
in the New York State Archives. While it is often difficult to access
records on individuals and groups by race or ethnic group, there are
several dozen record series in the Archives that provide retrievable
information on African-American residents of New York during the past
350 years. These record series pertain to several broad subject areas:
slavery and emancipation; military service; confinement in State institutions,
performing arts, political radicalism, human rights, and education."
The Black Aboltionist Papersmicrofilm set
is held here.

Albany
Institute of History and Art

Library Collections
"A non-circulating library, the library
collection of more than 1 million items includes extensive collections
of primary source material such as photographs, manuscripts, architectural
drawings, ephemera, maps and scrapbooks in addition to more than 14,000
history and art reference volumes and 125 periodicals and newsletters."
There are only a few specifically African American artifacts
and posters including a "run-away negro" broadside from
1809, a plaster statute of Frederick Douglass, and an 1863 emancipation
proclamation poster.

Rennsselaer County Historical Society

Research Library" RCHS manages and administers the largest
local history library, archives and research center in Rensselaer County.
These collections, comprising more than 30,000 items, are the fastest-growing
and most well-used collections at RCHS."

Local History Collections"The Albany Public Library’s local
history collections contains materials concerning the City of Albany
and Albany County and to a lesser extent, there are materials relating
to the entire Capital Region of New York State and New Netherlands.
The collection also contains copies of works with local Albany imprints.
An extensive collection of local newspapers beginning in 1788 is available
on microfilm. The library does not collect manuscript collections or
family papers. A large vertical file of clippings was closed in 1988
and microfilmed. There is an indexed collection of pamphlets and ephemera
from local organizations. Local newspapers are available on microfilm."

Troy Public Library

Local History Collections"Troy Public Library traces its history
to 1799 when citizens formed a public library. In 1835 the Young Men’s
Association was formed and carried the library banner until 1885 when
it merged with the Free Reading Room to create a free public library
for Troy. The present historic building was opened in 1897. The local
history collection of the Troy Public Library includes local history
monographs, genealogical materials, vertical files, manuscript collections
and the archives of the library. The collection covers the city of Troy,
Rensselaer County and some neighboring areas in Albany and Saratoga
counties. The library also has a unique collection of paintings, sculpture
and memorabilia."

Cornell University
Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
"The Cornell University Library owns one of the richest collections
of anti-slavery and Civil War materials in the world, thanks in large
part to Cornell's first President, Andrew Dickson White, who developed
an early interest in both fostering, and documenting the abolitionist
movement and the Civil War. " Much of the collection is available online
in digitized format.

General Research and Reference Division
African, Caribbean and African American literature holdings are particularly
strong, as are works on the history of the Americas and the New York
metropolitan area. Texts on Harlem and Blacks in the performing and
visual arts are also substantial. Additionally, the division maintains
a strong retrospective and current collection of African American, Caribbean
and African newspapers and other serials.Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books DivisionSubject and genre strength for the rare book collection
include slavery and anti-slavery in the United States; fiction; travel
narratives in the Americas and Africa; history of Blacks in the United
States and Caribbean; biography; and, poetry. In addition, the collection
has one of the finest representative collections of works by authors
of the Harlem Renaissance, nineteenth century Black women authors, and
monographs published during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries by and about Black people.

This section provides
examples of selected scholarly collections which include a significant
number of digitized primary sources.

Library of Congress: American Memory
From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909"From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection,
1824-1909 presents 397 pamphlets from the Rare Book and Special Collections
Division, published from 1824 through 1909, by African-American authors
and others who wrote about slavery, African colonization, Emancipation,
Reconstruction, and related topics. The materials range from personal
accounts and public orations to organizational reports and legislative
speeches. Among the authors represented are Frederick Douglass, Kelly
Miller, Charles Sumner, Mary Church Terrell, and Booker T. Washington."

African American Perspectives:
Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection, 1818-1907"The Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection
presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history
and culture, spanning almost one hundred years from the early nineteenth
through the early twentieth centuries, with the bulk of the material
published between 1875 and 1900. Among the authors represented are Frederick
Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Benjamin W. Arnett,
Alexander Crummel, and Emanuel Love."

Born in Slavery: Slave
Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938"Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from
the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person
accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves.
These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal
Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and assembled
and microfilmed in 1941 as the seventeen-volume Slave Narratives: A
Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former
Slaves."

The Nineteenth
Century in Print"The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals now
includes 955 volumes from twenty-two nineteenth century periodicals
digitized by Cornell University as part of the original Making of America
project. These include magazines of general interest, such as Atlantic
Monthly and Harper's New Monthly Magazine, and titles catering to more
specific audiences, such as Manufacturer and Builder, Scientific American,
the United States Democratic Review, and the American Missionary. Articles
in these periodicals provide additional perspectives on themes and personalities
featured in other American Memory collections."

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Libraries

North American Slave Narratives,
Beginnings to 1920"'North American Slave Narratives, Beginnings
to 1920' documents the individual and collective story of the African
American struggle for freedom and human rights in the eighteenth, nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. When completed, it will include all the
narratives of fugitive and former slaves published in broadsides, pamphlets,
or book form in English up to 1920 and many of the biographies of fugitive
and former slaves published in English before 1920."

This section provides examples
of selected significant scholarly primary source collections, some
of them are digitized, others are not.

Howard University

The
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center"MSRC is recognized as one of the world's
largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of
the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the
Americas, and other parts of the world. As one of Howard University's
major research facilities, the MSRC collects, preserves, and makes available
for research a wide range of resources chronicling the Black experience.
Its collections include more than 175,000 bound volumes and tens of
thousands of journals, periodicals, and newspapers; more than 17,000
feet of manuscript and archival collections; nearly 1000 audio tapes;
hundreds of artifacts; 100,000 prints, photographs, maps, and other
graphic items. The collections are used by scholars, museums, students,
and other researchers from Howard University and throughout the world.
Information provided by the MSRC is regularly used in exhibitions, video
productions, news programming, and a wide range of publications."

Witchita State University Libraries-Department
of Special Collections
Merrill Collection of William Lloyd Garrison Papers"These manuscripts and rare books relate to William Lloyd
Garrison, his family, his associates, and the anti-slavery cause. An
American journalist and reformer, Garrison was the founder and publisher
of the Liberator, a famous anti-slavery journal, and was one of the
founding members of the Anti-Slavery Society."

The nucleus of this collection was presented to
the Library in the late 1890’s by the family of William Lloyd
Garrison and from other individuals involved in the anti-slavery movement.
Artifacts, books, documents, letters, and pamphlets from Boston Reformer
Wendell Phillips, 50 volumes of letters and papers of orator and abolitionist
leader William Lloyd Garrison, dating from the 1830’s through
the 1870’s totaling more than 16,000 items. The collection also
contains daguerreotypes of several abolitionists, the papers of the
Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, the Weston sisters, Lydia Maria
Child, Samuel Joseph May, and John Bishop Estlin are featured. Other
items include the Liberator account book; records of the American, New
England, and Massachusetts Anti-Slavery societies; scrapbooks concerning
Anthony Burns and John Brown; and the files of Ziba B. Oakes, a slave
broker from Charleston, South Carolina.

In the Print Department are 136 broadsides advertising
19th century theater productions which include the venue, date, time,
cast members, and production titles. The collection includes broadsides
for the Boston Athenaeum’s January and February 1863 productions
featuring John Wilkes Booth as Othello and other characters. The 2,000
plus American historical and political broadsides (18th and 19th century)
in Rare Books cover Boston theatre, the anti-slavery movement, fugitive
slave law, and Boston imprints.

History Resources

New York
History Net"This site has a mission: to promote
awareness of New York State's rich history resources, and to promote
their enjoyment by the largest number of people possible. Toward this
end, every effort will be made to meet the needs of scholars, writers,
curators, avocational historians, tourists, and the people who serve
them. A special purpose of this site is to promote the interpretation
of New York's historical assets on the World Wide Web, and to promote
the use of the Web by people with an interest in New York History. This
site was developed to provide interested users with access to the full
range of historical assets within New York State. An effort has been
made to provide an integrated source of related information, crossing
lines among academic, governmental, and commercial sources."